Little Q2 to open up a new SUV front for Audi as it rolls out crossover blitz

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AUDI has confirmed that its long-awaited baby crossover vehicle, the Q2, will arrive as part of a 2016 SUV double whammy with the new-generation Q5.

The new-model program was confirmed by Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in the company’s annual statement spelling out its upcoming investment program that this year will amount to more than €3 billion ($A4.54b), half of which will be spent at Audi’s German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

But the company has also warned that it will seek cost savings as well, with plans for a new wind tunnel to be postponed for a year.

Audi stopped short of saying the spending cuts were related to costs associated with the Volkswagen Group’s dieselgate affair, which has hit Audi as well as VW.

The new Q2 is expected to be based on the ubiquitous VW MQB platform, and potentially owe at least some design signatures to the Audi Crosslane Coupe concept revealed at the 2012 Paris motor show.

Audi is on the record as saying the Q2 will be a sporty small SUV, sitting below the more practical Q3 that made its debut in Australia in February 2014.

And it won’t end there, with Mr Stadler reiterating that an all-electric vehicle is under development for 2018.

“A significant proportion of our investment is naturally in the field of alternative drive systems,” he said.

“In 2018, the first large series battery electric vehicle of the brand with the Four Rings will be launched, based on the Audi e-tron Quattro concept. By 2020, Audi will expand its model range to include 60 different automobiles.”

The aforementioned EV is expected to be dubbed Q6. Coupe-style Q8 and Q4 variants – to compete with the BMW X6 and X4 and most likely based on the Q7 and Q3 respectively – are also believed to be in the wings as part of the 60-model line-up.

The replacement for the ageing Q5 is arguably the most important new model on the launch pad for Audi, as it is one of the brand’s top sellers around the globe.

This time to be built in Mexico at Audi’s new plant at San José Chiapa, the Q5 is expected to land in Europe in the third quarter of 2016.

Australian launch dates for the Q5 and Q2 are yet to be confirmed, but both might not arrive until the first half of 2017.

According to Audi Australia, its 2016 model roll out will include the A4 sedan in the first quarter, followed in Q2 by the A4 Avant and all-new R8, and then the Q7 e-tron and S4 sedan and Avant twins in Q3.

Meanwhile, Audi says it is seeking to employ more new-technology experts to bolster its stocks in areas such as alternative drive systems, lightweight construction and IT.

It says these will “further develop the fields of Audi connect, Audi mobility and smart factory”.